I have a 97 civic LX that I want to swap the engine out with a replacement from what I believe is a 2002 civic. Do I need to change the computer as well?

 

This is not a straight forward swap... the D17A has coil-on-plug and no distributor... and the ECU plugs are totally different than those found on the engine harness in your '97 Civic. If you aren't well versed and comfortable with creating a custom engine wiring harness, I would say this is a bad idea.